TO DO NOW: Ask Gov. Larry Hogan to reject the pipeline under the Potomac River that would carry fracked gas from PA to WVA. Tell him to keep his promises about fracking. Ask him to reject the expanding fracked-gas infrastructure in Maryland and to Act responsibly, for a healthy climate. #NoPotomacPipeline

CALL TO ACTION: Call Gov. Hogan at 410-947-3901 OR tweet @LarryHogan

Sample Script : I am calling to ask Gov. Hogan to keep his promises about upholding the Spirit of the Climate agreements. I do not approve of the use of Fracked gas for Maryland. I also do not approve of drilling and building a Pipeline under the Potomac River to carry fracked gas from Pennsylvania to WestVirginia. I believe this puts millions of Marylander’s drinking water at risk. This is not what he promised his constituents last May. I am Saying No to the Potomac Pipeline from Cove Point.

BACKGROUND: Although Gov. Hogan agreed in May 2017 that the "environmental risks of fracking simply outweigh any potential benefits", it turns out that within 6 months, his administration was making deals with gas companies to expand the use of fracked gas in our state.

As part of an agreement to allow the merger of AltaGas Ltd. and WGL Holdings, the Hogan administration wants to "kick-start a natural gas expansion" in Maryland by having the companies put money into a "Maryland Gas Expansion Fund”. The State Public Service Commission has to approve the merger. And that is the same panel that currently allows unregulated pollution at the fracked-gas export facility that's nearly finished in Cove Point.

Gov. Hogan has been playing both sides of the Fracking issue. While saying he opposes fracking and supports the Paris Climate deal, he has been easing the way for TransCanada to build the pipeline under the Potomac River. This pipeline would carry fracked gas from PA to West Virginia. And in essence this is a double-cross of Marylanders trust. And it gives rise to the potential for deadly gases to pass through our state and under a major water supply, which serves over six million people downstream. Meanwhile, the de-regulated Federal Energy Regulatory Commission won't assist to stop this, and Under Trump they say “there is no problem”.

However, the governor could stop the pipeline by denying the permit to drill under the Potomac River. But currently, his Department of the Environment has waived the peoples’s rights to review stream and river crossings for this pipeline. Pressure on the governor could really have an impact. Read about it here: http://www.potomacriverkeepernetwork.org/maryland-departme…/

To date, hundreds of #protectors circled the governor's mansion on February 15th, calling on him to reject the permit for this pipeline. And because of public pressure, MDE Secretary Ben Grumbles has asked the Army Corps of Engineers for extra time to review the project. The deadline for a decision is now March 15, 2018.